Prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity in Spanish population aged 65 years and over: ENPE study

[Prevalence of obesity and diabetes in Spain. Evolution in the last 10 years]

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has been increasing in recent decades, worldwide and in all age groups, including children and adolescents. In Spain, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is high and is expected to increase in the coming years. The World Atlas of Obesity suggests that in 2035 the prevalence of obesity in Spain will be high or very high, both in adults and children, following the worldwide trend. The prevalence of diabetes and obesity in Spain is higher in older people, especially those aged 65 and over. In the case of Spanish children and adolescents, there seems to be a stabilization in the rates of overweight and obesity, with the exception of the group of girls aged 10-15 years, where a gradual increase has been observed in the last 10 years.

Effect of the Healthy Dish Method to Reduce Waist Circumference in Teachers with Abdominal Obesity of a Peruvian University

Introduction

Obesity has increased steadily in recent decades, becoming a worldwide pandemic.

Objective

To determine the effect of the "Healthy Dish" method to reduce waist circumference in teachers with abdominal obesity in a Peruvian University.

Methods

Quasi-experimental, prospective study in 43 teachers, divided into 21 in the control group and 22 in the experimental group, who received a two-session workshop on abdominal obesity and the "Healthy Dish" method. The latter was applied for 2 months, monitored 5 days a week, the waist circumference of both groups was measured at one month and at two months and compared. For the statistical analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics or nonparametric statistics were applied (Mann-Whitney U-test, according to the assumption of normality).

Results

The predominant age range was 40 to 49 years, women, married, overweight, with a family history of hypertension, cancer and diabetes mellitus. After the intervention, 40.9% of teachers in the experimental group decreased their waist circumference and 54.5% normalized it, while the control group decreased it by 23.8% and 47.6% normalized it. Only 4.54% of teachers in the experimental group showed no change in their waist circumference, compared to 19.0% in the control group, and 9.52% of teachers in the control group increased their waist circumference.

Conclusion

The healthy dish method has a positive effect on decreasing waist circumference in teachers with abdominal obesity.

Assessing quality of life with SarQol is useful in screening for sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in older women

BACKGROUND

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) may be impaired in the presence of sarcopenia. Since a specific quality of life questionnaire became available for sarcopenia (SarQol), cutoffs to screen for this condition have been proposed, prompting the need to assess them in different populations. Due to the lack of consensus on diagnostic criteria, the tool has not yet been analyzed in screening for sarcopenic obesity.

AIM

Our aim is to measure the SarQoL's metric properties and establish a cutoff in QoL assessments that could be used along the diagnostic pathway for sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in community-dwelling older women.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study assessed women aged ≥ 70 years using the SarQol, sarcopenia criteria (EWGSOP2) and sarcopenic obesity criteria (ESPEN/EASO). Cutoffs for the SarQol were defined with a receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve, and sensitivity and specificity were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of the 95 included women (mean age 76.0 years, standard deviation [SD] 5.7), 7.3% (n = 7) were classified as having sarcopenic obesity, 22.1% (n = 21) as having sarcopenia, and 70.5% (n = 67) as not having sarcopenia. The total SarQol score was higher in women without sarcopenia (66.5 SD 16.2) versus those with sarcopenia (56.6 SD 15.6) and sarcopenic obesity (45.1 SD 7.9). A cutoff of ≤ 60 points is proposed for sarcopenia screening (area under the ROC curve [AUC] 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.80; sensitivity 61.9%; specificity 62%), and ≤ 50 points for sarcopenic obesity (AUC 0.85; 95% CI 0.74-0.95; sensitivity 71.4%; specificity 76.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

Quality of life is compromised in women with sarcopenia and especially in those with sarcopenic obesity. The SarQol could be useful in screening for these conditions, providing insight into health-related quality of life in older people with sarcopenia.

Prevalence and Clinical Conditions Related to Sarcopaenia among Older Persons Living in the Community

(1) Background: In health care and in society at large, sarcopaenia is a disorder of major importance that can lead to disability and other negative health-related events. Our study aim is to determine the prevalence of sarcopaenia among older people attended in primary care and to analyse the factors associated with this age-related clinical condition; (2) Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted of 333 community-dwelling Spanish adults aged 65 years or more. Sociodemographic, clinical, functional, anthropometric, and pharmacological data were collected. Sarcopaenia was defined following European Working Group on Sarcopaenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria; (3) Results: Sarcopaenia was present in 20.4% of the study sample, and to a severe degree in 6%. The intensity of the association between sarcopaenia and frailty was weak-moderate (Cramer V = 0.45). According to the multinomial logistic regression model performed, sarcopaenia was positively associated with age and with the presence of psychopathology (OR = 2.72; 95% CI = 1.30–5.70) and was inversely correlated with body mass index (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.67–0.80; (4) Conclusions: Sarcopaenia commonly affects community-dwelling older persons and may be associated with age, body mass index, and psychopathology. The latter factor may be modifiable or treatable and is therefore a possible target for intervention.